Needle threader

ABSTRACT

A needle threader for pulling particularly bulky thread, such as yarn, through the eye of a needle, including a handle and a pair of slender, leaf-like, flexible members mounted along end portions in the handle and biased together for insertion through a needle eye, gripping a thread, and pulling a section of the thread through the eye. One of the leaf members is longer than the other and includes a bend for holding the needle on the members preliminary to threading and for biasing the members toward each other. One form of the needle threader has leaf members of uniform thickness and width. Another form of the needle threader has leaf members of uniform thickness and graduated width. A further form of the needle threader has leaf members of both graduated thickness and graduated width. A still further form of the needle threader has leaf members of uniform width over a portion of their length and graduated width over the remaining free end portion.

United States Patent [1 1 Ivy I NEEDLE THREADER [76] Inventor: David M.Ivy, 4635 Southern,

Dallas, Tex. 75209 [22] Filed: July 2, 1973 [2|] Appl. No.: 375,904

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.274,329, July 24,

I972, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. 223/99 [51] Int. Cl D05b 87/00 [58] Field of Search 223/99[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,288,322 l2/l9l8 223/99l,504,917 8/l924 Trzeciak 223/99 1,704,530 3/1929 Buxbaum 223/992,448,432 8/l948 Hurling 223/99 3,250,447 5/1966 Larew 223/99 X FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 296,295 8/1928 United Kingdom 223/99 1,0546/1907 United Kingdom 223/99 Primary Examiner-George H. KrizmanichAttorney, Agent, or Firm-H. Mathews Garland [57] ABSTRACT A needlethreader for pulling particularly bulky thread, such as yarn, throughthe eye of a needle, including a handle and a pair of slender,leaf-like, flexitile members mounted along end portions in the handleand biased together for insertion through a needle eye, gripping athread, and pulling a section of the thread through the eye. One of theleaf members is longer than the other and includes a bend for holdingthe needle on the members preliminary to threading and for biasing themembers toward each other. One form of the needle threader has leafmembers of uniform thickness and width. Another form of the needlethreader has leaf members of uniform thickness and graduated width. Afurther form of the needle threader has leaf members of both graduatedthickness and graduated width. A still further form of the needlethreader has leaf members of uniform width over a portion of theirlength and graduated width over the remaining free end portion.

13 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures NEEDLE THREADER This is a continuation inpart of application Ser. No. 274,329 filed July 24, 1972, and nowabandoned.

This invention relates to sewing apparatus and more particularly relatesto needle threaders.

In recent years, handwork of various types has become popularparticularly in the areas of decorative work such as the form ofembroidery referred to as crewel. In this particular type of handwork,fairly large, loosely formed yarn is used which often presents a problemin threading the yarn through the eye of a needle, especially in thecase of a user having a finger manipulation problem, bad eyesight, andthe like. Even in cases of persons having excellent eyesight and controlof their fingers, problems are presented where the yarn is large inrelation to the needle eye through which it is to be threaded. Whilethere are a number of devices for threading needles which are known andcommercially available, such devices are not completely satisfactory forthreading yarn through a needle eye. Generally, such threaders areformed of small diameter wire bent in the shape of a closed loop whichis inserted through the needle eye to grasp the thread and pull backthrough the eye. Such loop ends on needle threaders are defined byvertically aligned wire portions which are inserted through the needleeye in a single wire thickness relationship since such a closed end bentto a shape which would cause the wire to be pulled through in a doublewire thickness relationship would not normally pass through many needleeyes. By having the wire portions of the closed loop vertically aligned,it is, of course, necessary that the thread extend through the loopessentially horizontally, at least at the closed wire loop end where thethread is actually pulled through the needle eye. Such an arrangement isquite satisfactory for threads which are small in diameter relative tothe eye of the needle, but are not satisfactory in the case of theheavier yarns which may be difficult to pull through the needle eye indouble thickness as is required when pulling it horizontally through byvertically displaced wire portions forming a closed loop end. With oneparticular yarn and needle, a conventional needle threader could notpull the yarn through the needle eye due to the double thread formed bythe closed wire loop end. The same yarn was readily threaded in the sameneedle by the present invention.

It is a particularly important object of the invention to provide a newand improved needle threader which is especially adapted to pullingheavy yarn through needle eyes.

It is another object of the invention to provide a needle threader whichwill grasp and pull a yarn segment through a needle eye without foldingthe yarn to a double diameter thickness as it is pulled through theneedle eye.

It is another object of the invention to provide a needle threader whichhas means for retaining the needle on the threader while engaging theyarn in the threader.

It is another object of the invention to provide a needle threader inwhich the yarn is easily and quickly engaged with the threader.

It is another object of the invention to provide a needle threader whichmay be manufactured in a number of sizes to handle assorted sizes ofyarn and needle eyes.

It is another object of the invention to provide a needle threaderformed of very thin sheet material permitting insertion of the threadermembers through a very narrow needle eye.

It is another object of the invention to provide a needle threaderhaving thread gripping, leaf-like members of uniform width and thicknessover substantially their entire length.

It is another object of the invention to provide a nee dle threaderhaving leaf-like thread gripping members of uniform thickness andgraduated width.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a needlethreader having leaf-like thread gripping members of both graduatedthickness and width over their entire length.

It is another object of the invention to provide a needle threaderhaving thread gripping members of uniform width along a base end portionand of reduced graduated width along a free end portion.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a needle threaderespecially adapted to threading yarn through needle eyes which includesa handle and a pair of thread gripping members formed of narrow, thin,sheet material biased together for insertion through a needle eye andgripping and pulling the thread through the eye. One of the threadengaging members is longer than the other and includes a bendintermediate the opposite ends of the member for biasing the memberstogether and retaining a needle on the members while engaging the threadwith the outer end portions of the members. One form of the needlethreader has leaf-like thread gripping members of uniform width andthickness over substantially their entire length. Another form of theneedle threader has thread gripping members of uniform thickness andgraduated width. A further form of the needle threader has threadgripping members of both graduated thickness and graduated widthtapering to a point at the free ends of the members. Another form of theneedle threader has thread gripping members of uniform width along abase end portion and reduced graduated width along a free end portion.

The foregoing objects and advantages of the invention will be betterunderstood from the following de tailed description of a preferred formthereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a top plan view of a needle threader embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view in elevation of the needle threader shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the needle threaderillustrating an early step in the process of threading a needle with thedevice;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the use of the needlethreader at a later step in the process of threading a needle with thedevice;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the eye end of a needleand a segment of yarn partially pulled through the eye of the needlewith the device of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the needle eye eyd portionand a segment of the thread pulled through the eye in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of another form of needle threader embodyingthe invention;

FIG. 8 is a side view in elevation of the needle threader shown in FIG.7;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a still further form of needle threaderembodying the invetion', and

FIG. is a side view in elevation of another form of needle threaderembodying the invention.

Referring to the drawings a needle threader 10 embodying the inventionincludes a handle 11 supporting a pair of thread engaging leaf members12 and 13. As evident from FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the members 12 and 13is a relatively long, slender, thin member tapered along a free endportion of the member. The two members are tightly secured togetheralong end portions 14 and 14a embedded to a depth within the handle 11to firmly hold the members in the handle and together in juxtaposedrelationship so that the members will remain biased together along theexposed free por tions and will not tend to work loose during use of thedevice. The handle may be of wood or a suitable plastic molded aroundthe end portions 14 and 14a of the members 12 and 13 with the membersbeing provided with perforations, as evident in FIG. 2, along theembedded portions to enhance the gripping action of the handle on themembers.

The leaf members 12 and 13 are preferably formed of a spring-like metalsuch as steel which may be very strong, very thin, and very resilient toretain the original shapes of the members through many uses and so themembers will firmly grip the thread in threading a needle. The member 12is slightly bent at 120 toward the member 13 intermediate the ends ofthe members so that a central portion of the member 12 is sprung awayfrom the member 13 due to the engagement of the member 12 at 1217 withthe free end 13a of the member 13. The cooperative relationship of thebent member 12 with the straight member 13 biases the two memberstogether particularly at the free end of the member 13. The member 12 issubstantially longer than the member 13 to facilitate insertion of athread segment between the members as will be more evident from thedescription of the operation of the device. The widths of the members 12and 13 obviously must be less than the length of the smallest needle eyethrough which the members are to be inserted. The length of the membersmust be sufficient to permit insertion far enough through a needle eyeto allow the members to grip a thread segment and provide the necessarymanipulation of the thread to be handled by the members, consistent withlengths which will provide the needed flexibility of the members.

In use the needle threader 10 is held by the fingers of one hand of theuser with the short leaf member 13 preferably facing the user. The shankof a needle is held between the thumb and forefinger of the other handof the user, preferably with the point end of the needle facingdownwardly. The needle is rotated to align the eye 21 with the tip endof the leaf member 12. The device 10 is moved toward the eye of theneedle inserting the pair of members 12 and 12 through the needle eyeuntil the needle is past the bend 12a of the member 12 and. preferably,is near the handle 11 as shown in FIG. 3. The spacing between the leafmembers I2 and 13 at and on opposite sides of the bend 12a in the member12 provide means for releasably holding the needle 20 on the memberssince the members along this spaced portion are farther apart than thewidth of the eye of the needle. Thus, with the members inserted throughthe needle eye to the location generally represented in FIG. 3, theneedle readily remains on the members while manipulating the device forthe insertion of the thread. The yarn 30 is then held by the free handof the user stretching a portion of the thread vertically between theforefinger of the hand and the thumb and third finger of the hand toprovide a short fairly taut vertical segment of the thread for insertionbetween the members 12 and 13. This portion of the thread is thenpressed against the free end portion of the member 12 extending beyondthe end 13a of the member 13 so that the member 12 is readily bentslightly away from the member 13 separating the mem bers at the tip 13a.The thread is inserted between the members 12 and 13 until a shortsegment 30a of the thread section is gripped between the leaf members asseen in FIG. 3. The diameter of the yarn 30 in relation to the lateralspacing between the members 12 and 13 causes the members to frictionallygrip and slightly flatten the yarn segment between the members asevident in FIG. 3. Preferably, the yarn segment is inserted between themembers beyond the bend 12a of the member 12 for more efficientthreading of the needle.

With the needle 20 disposed on the member 12 and 13 and the yarn 30inserted between the members as shown in FIG. 3, the device is sharplyor quickly drawn to the left, as viewed in the drawings, retracting theleaf members 12 and 13 from the needle eye. As the members are drawnfrom the needle eye and the needle approaches the bend 12a in the member12 near which the yarn portion 30a is gripped between the members, themembers are urged more tightly together, thus pinching the yarn and morefirmly frictionally engaging the yarn as the yarn segment 30a is drawnby the members through the needle eye. The stage at which the leafmembers are still inserted through the eye and the yarn is partiallypulled through the needle eye is represented in FIG 4. The device isthen firmly pulled completely through the needle eye fully withdrawingthe leaf members from the eye leaving the yarn partially pulled throughthe eye as shown in FIG. 5 so that the yarn portion 30a forms a shortclosed loop on the opposite side of the needle eye from the ends 30b and30c of the yarn. The yarn loop 30a is of fully adequate size to begripped by a thumb and forefinger of the user with one of the ends, suchas the end 30b, of the yarn being pulled through the needle eye with theresult that the needle is now fully threaded. It is to be particularlynoted that as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, and especially emphasized in FIG.4, as the yarn is pulled through the needle eye only a single thicknessof the yarn passes through the needle eye. This is due to the fact thatthe yarn is held by the flat, inside adjacent faces of the leaf membersin a vertical relationship rather than being looped and pulled throughhorizontally which would present a double thickness of the yarn at theneedle eye.

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 illustrate additional forms of the needle threaderwhich provide increased flexibility for use with varying widths andlengths of needle eyes.

Referring to FIG. 7, an alternate form 10A of the needle threaderincludes a handle 11 to which are secured leaf-like thread grippingmembers 40 and 41 which are secured to and embedded in the handle alongshank end portions 40a and 41a, respectively. The member 40 is bent at40b providing the thread gripping end portion 40c. The member 41 isstraight so that the tip end 41b engages the inside face of the endportion 40c of the member 40 at about the midpoint of the length of suchend portion. The base ends of the members 40 and 41 are secured incontact with each other along their full inside faces so that the bentend portion 404." springs the members apart, thus causing them to bebiased toward each other. The biasing effect maintains the tip 41bagainst the member portion 40c except when the members are spread apartfor the insertion and withdrawal of thread or yarn. 1n the form of thethreader shown in FIG. 7 the thickness of both of the members 40 and 41is uniform throughout the length of the members. As shown in FIG. 8,however, the widths of both the members 40 and 41 are graduated from theshank ends to semi-pointed configurations at the free ends of themembers.

FIG. 9 illustrates a further modified form of 108 of the needle threaderwhich is substantially identical to the needle threader 10A with theadded feature of leaf members 50 and 51 which vary in thickness from theshank to the tip ends. The shank end portions 50a and 51a of the threadgripping members 50 and 51 respectively are imbedded in the handle 11 injuxtaposition-it As with the other forms of the thread gripping members,the member 50 is bent at 50b providing an end portion 50c extendingtoward and contacting the free end 51b of the member 51 so that themember 50 is sprung somewhat away from and thus is biased toward themember 51. The members 50 and 51 are tapered in width in the sameproportions as the members of the needle threader 10A, and, thus, a sideview of the needle threader 10B is identical to the view shown in FIG.8. The added feature of the threader 10B is that each of the threadgripping members 50 and 51 is graduated in thickness from the handle endof each member to the free or tip end of the member. While it isdifficult in a drawing to realistically illustrate the thickness changeconsistent with the slender shape of the members 50 and 51, there issome thinning of the members as shown in FIG. 9. As a practical matter,a typical example of the proportions of the changes in thicknessoccurring in the members 50 and 51 is embodied in members which varyfrom about (0.006) at the shank ends of the members at the handle face11a to about (0.004) inches at the free tip ends of the members. Thus,the members are each approximately 50 per cent thicker at the handlethan at the free tip ends. This graduation in thickness featureaccommodates the needle threader 108 more readily to various sizeneedles having varying needle eye widths than the other needle threadersl0 and 10A shown herein. Also, it will be apparent that the widthvariations in both the needle threaders 10A and 108 provides greaterflexibility for use in needles of various eye lengths. The thicker andwider shank portions of the thread gripping members gives them thestrength and spring effect required for gripping and pulling threadsthrough needle eyes, while the thinning and narrowing of the threadgripping members embodied in the forms of the threader of both FIGS. 7and 9 accommodates the threader to a wide variety of eye widths andlengths.

FIG. 10 illustrates a still further form 10c of needle threaderembodying the invention. The threader 100 has a handle 11 and threadgripping members 60 and 61 which have shank end portions of uniformwidth extending from the handle about half the lengths of the members.The members 60 and 61 are then reduced in width and tapered along theother free end portions. More specifically, the member 61 has a shankend portion 610 of uniform width and a free end 61b of substantiallyreduced tapered width. The longer member similarly has a shank endportion of uniform width and a substantially narrower tapered free endportion 60b. In FIG. 10 the member 61 is superimposed over the member 60so that most of the member 60 cannot be seen except for the small tipend 60b. The substantial reduction in width of both members occurs at62. The wide shank portions of the members 60 and 61 gives sufficientstrength to grip heavier threads and yarns and pull them through needleeyes. The slender tapered free end portions of the members 60 and 61allows the threader to be used with small threads in small needle eyes.The members 60 and 61 may be of uniform or tapered thickness and appearin edge views exactly as the threaders 10A and 10B are shown in FIGS. 7and 9, respectively. The threader 10c is used in the same manner as theother threaders illustrated and described.

What is claimed is:

1. A needle threader comprising a handle; a first thread engaging membersecured along one end portion in said handle; a second thread engagingmember secured along one end portion in said handle in juxtapositionwith said first thread engaging member; said thread engaging membersbeing flat elongated leaves of resilient material and being biasedtogether for frictionally engaging a thread port on therebetween forpulling said thread portion through the eye of a needle; one of saidleaves being longer than the other of said leaves and having a free endportion extending outwardly from said handle farther than the free endportion of said other of said leaves; and at least one of said leavesbeing bent along a line transversely of the longitudinal axis of saidleaf providing a free end portion of said leaf converging toward theother of said leaves biasing said leaves together providing means forrestraining said needle on said leaves.

2. A needle threader in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first ofsaid leaves having said bend therein is the longest of said leaves.

3. A needle threader in accordance with claim 2 wherein each of saidleaves is tapered in width from the shank end to the free end of saidleaves.

4. A needle threader in accordance with claim 3 wherein each of saidleaves is graduated in thickness from the shank to the tip end of eachof said leaves, each leaf being thicker at said shank end.

5. A needle threader in accordance with claim 2 wherein both of saidleaves is uniform in width along a first shank end portion and isreduced in width and tapered along a second free end portion.

6. A needle threader comprising: a handle; a first thread engaging leafsecured along a first end portion in said handle; a second threadengaging leaf secured along a first end portion in said handle injuxtaposition with said first leaf; said second leaf being substantiallystraight and being shorter than said first leaf; said first leaf havinga bend therein extending along a line transversely of the longitudinalaxis of said leaf aligned between the ends of said second leaf providinga free end portion of said first leaf bent toward and engaging the freeend portion of said second leaf whereby said leaves are resilientlybiased together for frictionally engaging a thread portion between theinner facing surfaces of said leaves, said leaves being separable forinsertion of said thread portion therebetween for frictionally holdingsaid thread portion to pull said thread portion through the eye of aneedle; and said bend in said first leaf disposing said first and secondleaves in spaced relation with each other along a portion of said leavesincluding and on opposite sides of said bend in said first leaf, saidleaves being compressablc together to permit insertion through andwithdrawal from the eye of said needle whereby said needle is releasablyrestrained on said leaves and a thread portion is frictionally engagedbetween said leaves for pulling said thread portion through said eye ofsaid needle.

7. A needle threader in accordance with claim 6 wherein said leaves aredisposed to frictionally engage said portion of said threadlongitudinally of said eye of said needle whereby said thread portion ispulled through said eye along a single thickness of said thread portion.

8. A needle threader in accordance with claim 7 wherein said threadengaging leaves are comprised of elongated, thin narrow resilient metalsheeting.

9. A needle threader in accordance with claim 8 wherein said leaves areequal in width.

10. A needle threader in accordance with claim 8 wherein said leaves aretapered in width from the shank end of said leaves to the free tip endsof said leaves.

11. A needle threader in accordance with claim 8 wherein said leaves aretapered in width and thickness from the shank ends of said leaves to thefree tip ends of said leaves.

12. A needle threader in accordance with claim 11 wherein said leavesare substantially fifty per cent thicker at said shank end than at saidfree end.

13. A needle threader in accordance with claim 8 wherein said leaves areuniform in width along a first shank end portion and are reduced inwidth and tapered along a second free end portion.

1. A needle threader comprising a handle; a first thread engaging membersecured along one end portion in said handle; a second thread engagingmember secureD along one end portion in said handle in juxtapositionwith said first thread engaging member; said thread engaging membersbeing flat elongated leaves of resilient material and being biasedtogether for frictionally engaging a thread portion therebetween forpulling said thread portion through the eye of a needle; one of saidleaves being longer than the other of said leaves and having a free endportion extending outwardly from said handle farther than the free endportion of said other of said leaves; and at least one of said leavesbeing bent along a line transversely of the longitudinal axis of saidleaf providing a free end portion of said leaf converging toward theother of said leaves biasing said leaves together providing means forrestraining said needle on said leaves.
 2. A needle threader inaccordance with claim 1 wherein said first of said leaves having saidbend therein is the longest of said leaves.
 3. A needle threader inaccordance with claim 2 wherein each of said leaves is tapered in widthfrom the shank end to the free end of said leaves.
 4. A needle threaderin accordance with claim 3 wherein each of said leaves is graduated inthickness from the shank to the tip end of each of said leaves, eachleaf being thicker at said shank end.
 5. A needle threader in accordancewith claim 2 wherein both of said leaves is uniform in width along afirst shank end portion and is reduced in width and tapered along asecond free end portion.
 6. A needle threader comprising: a handle; afirst thread engaging leaf secured along a first end portion in saidhandle; a second thread engaging leaf secured along a first end portionin said handle in juxtaposition with said first leaf; said second leafbeing substantially straight and being shorter than said first leaf;said first leaf having a bend therein extending along a linetransversely of the longitudinal axis of said leaf aligned between theends of said second leaf providing a free end portion of said first leafbent toward and engaging the free end portion of said second leafwhereby said leaves are resiliently biased together for frictionallyengaging a thread portion between the inner facing surfaces of saidleaves, said leaves being separable for insertion of said thread portiontherebetween for frictionally holding said thread portion to pull saidthread portion through the eye of a needle; and said bend in said firstleaf disposing said first and second leaves in spaced relation with eachother along a portion of said leaves including and on opposite sides ofsaid bend in said first leaf, said leaves being compressable together topermit insertion through and withdrawal from the eye of said needlewhereby said needle is releasably restrained on said leaves and a threadportion is frictionally engaged between said leaves for pulling saidthread portion through said eye of said needle.
 7. A needle threader inaccordance with claim 6 wherein said leaves are disposed to frictionallyengage said portion of said thread longitudinally of said eye of saidneedle whereby said thread portion is pulled through said eye along asingle thickness of said thread portion.
 8. A needle threader inaccordance with claim 7 wherein said thread engaging leaves arecomprised of elongated, thin narrow resilient metal sheeting.
 9. Aneedle threader in accordance with claim 8 wherein said leaves are equalin width.
 10. A needle threader in accordance with claim 8 wherein saidleaves are tapered in width from the shank end of said leaves to thefree tip ends of said leaves.
 11. A needle threader in accordance withclaim 8 wherein said leaves are tapered in width and thickness from theshank ends of said leaves to the free tip ends of said leaves.
 12. Aneedle threader in accordance with claim 11 wherein said leaves aresubstantially fifty per cent thicker at said shank end than at said freeend.
 13. A needle threader in accordance with claim 8 wherein saidleaves are uniform in widtH along a first shank end portion and arereduced in width and tapered along a second free end portion.